Inkstand.



"Patented nec. 25; |900.

A. L.b NEwToN.

INKSTAND. (A ppnc'aeion med Nov. 1s, 1900 `(No Modal.)

v @mus Pneus co, woum UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. i

.ALBERT L. NEWTON, OF COVE, ARKANSAS.

INKS-TAN D.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 664,424, dated December 25, 1900.

Application iiled November 13 1900. Serial No. 36,390. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern: l

Be it known that I, ALBERT L. NEWTON, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Cove,

in the county of Polk and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and useful Inkstand, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to inkstands, and has for its object to provide'an improved device of this character in which the well thereof is self closing and opening, soas to maintain the same normally closed against the ingress of dirt and foreign matter, and at the same time being arranged to facilitate the entrance of a pen into the well for ink. It is furthermore designed to arrange the operating parts of the device in compact form and to house the same in an effective manner, so as to present a neat and ornamental appearance.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement 4of part-s as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without de` parting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of an ink-well constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail transverse sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings. y

Referring to the drawings,1 designates the housing or casing of the inkstand, which may be substantially rectangular, as shown in the drawings, or of other shape,as may be desired. In any event the frame or casing should have a Hat bottom, so as to rest evenly upon a desk. The rear portion 2 of the top of the casing should be substantially horizontal, While the front portion 3 should incline`downwardly and forwardly, so as to facilitate the engagement of the hand of a writer with the trip for opening the lid of the ink-well.

An opening 4 is formed in the flat top of the casing, so as to receive the ink-well 5, which has an outer marginal flange 6 at the upper edge thereof, so as to rest upon the top of the casing, and thereby support the well with the greater part thereof housed within the casing. The lid 7 is separate from the well and is connected to the top of the frame or casing by means of an upstanding hinge member 8, to which the lid is pivotally connected, as shown at 9.

Located within the casing and below the ink-well isalongitudinal rock-shaft l0, which has its opposite ends journaled in the front and rear ends of the casing and is also provided with a coiled spring 1l, which has one end connected to the adjacent side of the casing and the opposite end fixed to the shaft, so as to place a tension upon the latter when it is rocked out of its normal position.

At the rear end of the rock-shaft there is provided a lateral and upwardly-directed arm 12, from the outer free end of which rises a rod 13, that passes loosely upward through an opening 14 in the top of the casing. The

upper projecting end of the rod 13 is pivotally connected to the outer free end of the arm 15, which projects from the lid and is hingedly connected to the fixed hinge member 8, as hereinbefore described.

To operate the rock-shaft so as to open the lid of the ink-Well, there is provided a trip-rod 16, which projects loosely through an opening 17 in the front portion of the inclined front end of the casing and has aninwardly and upwardly inclined arm 1S extending from the lower end of the rod and pivotally connected to the under side of the top of the casing and immediately in front of the inkwell, as indicated at 19. A finger-plate 20 extends transversely across the upper end of the trip-rod for engagement by the hand or ngers to depress the rod. A lateral arm or projection 2l is carried by the front portion of the rock-shaft and is located in lthe path of the downward swing of the lower portion of the trip-arm 18, so that a downward movement of the latter will also force the projection 21 downwardly, thereby rocking the shaft, and through the connections 12, 13, and 15 the lid :is thrown open, and when pressure ICO is removed from the trip-rod the uncoiling of the spring wiil elevate the arm 12, and there by close theink-well lid.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that as a writer places his hand upon the trip-plate, with a penholder in the y same hand, the lid of the ink-well wiil immediately open, so as to permit of the pen being introduced: into the Well, which operations will be nearly simultaneous. Thus the lid is opened by the hand which holds the pen, and the latter is in the correct position for intro- I duction into the ink-well, thus o'bviating the necessity for opening the well with one hand and then introducing the pen with the other hand; also, the lid is automatically closed, thereby maintaining the well closed against the ingress of foreign matter; also, the operating parts ,are housed and protected bythe casing and the wel-1 is entirely independent of the operating means, so that it may be conveniently removed to be cleansed or replaced when broken. f

What is claimed isl. In an inkstand, the combination with a l frame, of an ink-well supported thereby, a spring-actuated rock-shaft, having opposite projections upon the same side thereof, an

ink-well iid hinged to the frame, an operative j connection between the lid and o-neof the pr0- jections of the rock-shaft, and a verticallymovable trip device projecting through the top of the frame and in front of the ink-well, and in operative relation to the other projection of the rock-shaft.

2. In an inkstand, the combination with a casing, having a forwardly and downwardly inclined front top portion, an ink-well suspended within .anopening in the rear top portion of the casing, a lid hinged to the top of the casing, a rock-shaft mounted within the casing, opposite lateral projections carried by the shaft, an operative connection between one of the projections and the lid, and a trip device projecting loosely through the inclined top portion of the casing, and having an operative engagement with the adjacent projection of the shaft.

'3. In an i-nkfstand, the combination with a frame, andan .ink-well, of a lid hinged to the frame, `a rock-.shaft mounted upon the frame, ian operative connection between the rock- :shaft and the iid, a vertically-,movable triprod, having a finger-plate at its upper end, land a lateral arm pivotally connected to the frame, and a trip projection carried by the- @Sh-aft and located in the path of the trip-arm. In testimony that I claim .the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in `the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT L. NEWTON.

Witnesses:

I.; K. GATES', J. S. MILLER. 

